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September 26, 2011

ADD. OCD. It took a while for me to wrap my head around the realization that I have a healthy affliction of both. ADD takes me from one project to another, one field of interest to the next, and one... oh, look, a squirrel! Then OCD grabs me and compels me to fixsort organize my belongings stuff in neataligned symmetrical order.

That's why I need shelves. Lots of shelves. Because I tend to collect things. Assorted things. Especially those that mean something to me. Like colored glass. Matrioshka dolls. Crystal bells. And books. Lots of books. Some CDs. Some DVDs. A few pewter figurines. Japanese artifacts. And Darth Vader.

September 25, 2011

Finding good puto (rice bun) here in the U.S. is hit or miss. So, I decided to try out a White King Puto boxed mix, which is much like the pancake mix that I always resort to for my comfort breakfast.

The White King Puto powder mix required a cup of water, half a cup of sugar, and 5 tsp of cooking oil. Instead of plain sugar, I used Splenda. I also used Canola oil. After a minute of hand-mixing the ingredients, I poured the batter into my muffin (silicone) molds. Our rice cooker doubles as a steamer, so I was good to go. The instructions said to steam for 25 minutes.

The puto came out just right. I dabbed some butter on top before I took them out of the steamer. My taste test revealed that next time I should put a little more Splenda, and spike the mix with a drop or two of vanilla flavoring.

So, why did I suddenly have the urge to cook my own puto? Because we had some Dinuguan ("Blood Stew") takeout from the Pinoy store, and everyone knows that Dinuguan is always best with puto.